Recently, I was re-reading Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst (Heinemann, 2012) and started thinking about how I read nonfiction professional books. I usually start with the table of contents to see how the book is organized and to make note of chapters that might be a special interest. After reading through the introduction, I may or may not start with the first chapter. Frequently, I flip around in the book, eventually reading through the whole book. Additionally, I keep a highlighter, pencil, and small sticky notes close by so I can tag my "ah-ha moments" and the things that I want to share with others or come back and ponder a bit more. This is certainly not how I read a novel.

Since I have been pondering ways to improve reading comprehension for English Language Learners, I have been going through a number of books that I have looked at before but felt the urge to return to and spend some additional time thinking about it and how to share it with teachers. Notice & Note has been one of those books. What books have your found absolutely critical in influencing your thinking on reading comprehension?

Here are a couple of books that I have spent a lot of time with this year:These are the books that currently are knocking about in a book bag, or my car, or my night stand. Some I have read in parts and others I still have to read and others I have read and referenced over and over again.